OFS Optics

When the telecom industry turned sour in 2000, OFS Optics, an optical fiber manufacturer headquartered in Norcross, GA, sought to survive the market downturn by reducing costs. Among the measures OFS identified to decrease operational spending organization-wide was to slash the $40,000 leasing fees it was paying for its Centrex phone system.

“We figured in the long run we could save a significant amount of money.”
— Richard Bayersdorfer, Global CIO and Director, OFS Optics.

When the IT team proposed VoIP as a cost-cutting measure, OFS executive management was hesitant about adopting what was then considered to be a “bleeding edge” technology. After reviewing the numbers, however, the company decided that the potential return on investment (ROI) was too good to ignore. In laying out criteria for its ideal VoIP system, OFS determined that it had to be easy to maintain and support, that it needed to offer a straightforward way to add new users and to change their locations, and that it would let them take advantage of their data lines, as they planned eventually to implement teleconferencing across all of their sites.

“We looked at lots of VoIP options. Many were depending on old technology and architecture that initially looked sexy, but once we looked under the hood, were anything but.”
— Richard Bayersdorfer, Global CIO and director, OFS Optics.

Although the cost savings of a ShoreTel system definitely played into the decision, other factors helped to seal the deal. ShoreTel’s flexible, hybrid, scalable solution was a good opportunity for OFS to scale and grow their phone system as they opened new offices. After an initial rollout in its Norcross, GA, headquarters and in its Massachusetts office, OFS has grown their system to support some 300-plus users. Other benefits include:

• A seamless implementation and speedy adoption across the board. IT staff and end-users got up to speed quickly, with no spike in calls to the help desk in the days following rollout.
• OFS can maintain and administer the system locally but push it out to all locations remotely. Adds, changes, and moves are easily made centrally through the same intuitive, Web-based interface.
• Efficiency-enhancing features of ShoreTel Call Manager provide greater flexibility for collaboration, as well as insight into overall history to improve the customer experience.
• The system, which looks and behaves like a single, unified platform, scales with plug-and-play simplicity, enabling employees to communicate quickly and easily with co-workers regardless of their location.
• To achieve similar ROI at each of their sites, OFS plans to extend the system across all its locations, four in the United States and three in international offices.

“Our tech folks picked up the new technology quickly and were able to deploy it in about 30 days without the help of a systems integrator or VAR.”
— Richard Bayersdorfer, Global CIO and director, OFS Optics.